Sweet & Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

Hello, readers! It certainly has been a while. The past 2 months have been absolutely crazy for me, which explains the lack of posts. The holidays always seem to be crazy, huh? The normal craziness of the holiday season was compounded by my 2nd teaching job (you know, grading finals and what not) and me starting my 3rd job (yes, 3rd job) as a contract writer. I swear, I don't know how to not be busy. What the eff is wrong with me?

Anyway, even with all the craziness 2013 came to an end with, I managed to find this AWESOME recipe for Sweet & Spicy Chicken Stir Fry. This recipe has now turned into a weekly staple on my dinner menu. It's pretty simple, has only a few ingredients (assuming you have most of the sauce ingredients on hand), and is sure to please. 

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbs honey
• 4 Tbs Sriracha or other chili sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 6 Tbs soy sauce, divided
• 6 Tbs rice vinegar, divided
• vegetable oil
• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips or bite size pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 inches freshly chipped ginger
• 6 scallions, chopped
• 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 cups cooked rice, optional

How to:

• Whisk together honey, Sriracha, broth, cornstarch, 4 Tbs soy sauce and 4 Tbs rice vinegar. 
• In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add chicken to the bowl and toss to coat.
• In a large skillet, warm vegetable oil over high heat. Stir fry chicken until no longer pink, and then transfer to a clean bowl.
• Reduce heat slightly, and add some more oil to the skillet. Stir fry garlic, ginger, scallions, and broccoli until fragrant (only ~30 seconds or so).
• Return chicken to the skillet with the sauce you've prepared. Cook, stirring until sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes. 
• Serve over rice.

You can adjust the heat of this recipe by backing off (or adding more!) on the Sriracha. If you're not in the mood for chicken, try adding in tofu or beef strips instead. Let me know how your variation turns out!

This recipe was modified from the one found here.

Enjoy!

Easy Fried Rice

I swear, these past few weeks have been so busy, I can't even keep up with my blog. I suppose it's because Jake and I's wedding is only a mere 9 weeks away, and the amount of things we have piling up is starting to get a little overwhelming. Oy, is it May yet?

One day last week, between trips to the gym and addressing wedding invitations, I threw this meal together. Super easy, super fast, super delicious. Like most of my meals, chances are you already have all these ingredients in your pantry and fridge. So, you should be able to whip this up in no time.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup frozen vegetables, thawed*
• 2 slightly beaten eggs
• 3 cups cooked rice**
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

How to:

• Warm oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring occasionally.
• Add in frozen (thawed) veggies and egg, stirring until egg is cooked through.
• Add in rice and soy sauce, mixing thoroughly, until veggies are cooked through and dish is heated throughout.

*You can really use any type of frozen veggies you want. I used a mix of peas, carrots, and corn, but anything will work.

**Day-old leftover rice works best. I also found that cooking the rice with 1/4 cup water less than what is recommended gives the rice a good texture as well.

This is one of those meals that you can pretty much add anything to, and it'll still taste good. If you have leftover chicken or beef, I say toss it in. As you can see in the picture, I've also diced up some raw chicken and cooked it in the sesame oil before adding in the onion & garlic. It turned out pretty good!

Enjoy!

Beef and Broccoli

Every Thursday, the large brick pathway adjacent to the building I work in fills with various vendors and food trucks, where everything from roasted peanuts to paninis are sold. I walked by all of this at exactly the wrong time today - right before I had planned on eating my lunch. The stand that caught my eye was one that was selling delicious smelling Chinese food. I forced myself to keep walking - I knew I'd regret spending close to $10 on lunch when I had a perfectly good Lean Cuisine microwave meal waiting for me in the freezer. And as soon as I took a bite of my reheated microwave lunch, I regretted passing up that Chinese food.

I decided to make my version of Chinese-style Beef and Broccoli. This dish comes together pretty quickly, so it's perfect for that work night where the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen putting together a meal.

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb stir fry beef strips, cut into bite size pieces
• 3 Tbs cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs water, divided
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• olive oil
• 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 4 cups broccoli
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• cooked rice (if desired)

How to:

• Combine 2 Tbs cornstarch, 2 Tbs water, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Mix until smooth.
• Add beef to this mixture and toss (I transferred the cornstarch mixture and beef to a large Ziploc bag and mixed this way).
• In a separate bowl, combine remaining water and cornstarch, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger, and mix until smooth. Set aside.
• Heat some oil in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat and cook beef until desired done-ness.
• Transfer beef to another container and keep warm.
• In remaining oil, stir-fry broccoli and onion for about 4-5 minutes.
• Add beef to broccoli and onion, and pour soy sauce mixture into pan.
• Cook for an additional 2-4 minutes until warmed throughout.
• Serve Beef and Broccoli over warm rice.

Take care not to overcook your beef. If you overcook it, you'll end up with chewy meat! I think the sauce to beef/broccoli ratio is just right. The crispness of the stir-fried broccoli and onion, coupled with the sweet and tangy soy sauce mixture results in a winning combination. And when served over rice - the overall texture of the dish is perfect.

Let me know what you think!

Spicy Mexican Skillet

You know when you have one of those days, where the last thing you want to do is cook? And you wish you could just go to your pantry, throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan and end up with a healthy, tasty meal? Look no further, my friends. This meal is for you!

 

I came had to run a quick errand after I left work today, so I stopped in at Target. An hour later (damn you, Target - you get me every time), I finally left - hands full of random items I obviously can't live without. It was 7:45pm, and the last thing I wanted to do was cook. I remembered this super fast, super easy, super tasty meal that I prepared a few months ago. Lucky for me, I had everything on hand to whip this up in no time.

This recipe for Spicy Mexican Skillet takes less than 30 minutes to make, and it's full of healthy ingredients. It's also full of flavor, so it's a win/win. The original recipe can be found here. As usual, I've changed minor things here & there to my taste. But the beauty of this dish is it's hard to go wrong!

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 1 medium green pepper
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 15 oz. canned corn, drained (or use some frozen corn if you have that)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup instant rice
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese or mexican cheese blend (plus some extra)

How to:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender, stirring occaisionally.
• Add beans, tomatoes, corn, and water. Bring to a boil.
• Add rice and mix well. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand about 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
• Add cheese and mix well.
• Serve and top with more cheese (b/c let's be honest, you can never have too much cheese)

This recipe makes a LOT of food, so be prepared to have many lunches and dinners taken care of for the few days!